For most of my romance reading life I never encountered a rock star as hero. Suddenly, they seem to be featured in every other romance I read. I’ve truly loved some of these rock star heroes, but that wasn’t the case when I initially encountered the hero of Suddenly in Love. Instead, I found him rude, whiny, and drunk for most of the early going. Worse yet, I wasn’t captivated by the heroine. I came to like them more by the end of the book, but not enough to recommend this.

Our hero and heroine are both at major turning points in their lives. Brennan – or Everett Alden as he’s known to the world – is depressed, burned out, and wants nothing to do with the alternative rock band he formed and stars in as lead singer and song writer.

Mia Lassiter has been unable to convert her fine arts degree into a profession, and in a recent string of bad luck she’s lost her job and boyfriend. Then, when she thinks she has a shot at being the intern for a major artist, the man looks at her portfolio and simply says, “No, thank you.” When she asks why, he tells her she doesn’t have talent. Mia’s devastated, but recognizes there may be some truth in what he says.

With no prospects, Mia is forced to return to live with her parents in the resort community of Lake Haven. She’s hired to work for her aunt and uncle’s interior design shop overseeing a renovation project at a mansion. On one of her first days at the mansion Mia encounters Brennan. threatens to call security on him but later learns he’s the owner’s son.

Brennan assumes Mia sneaked onto the estate to throw herself at him – that’s what women normally do – and demands she leave the property. Mia’s a fan of classical music and doesn’t recognize him. She tells him he smells, is rude, and acts crazy. He’s shocked, but eventually intrigued.

In the early going I didn’t like either Mia or Brennan, and found the book easy to put down. Clearly Brennan is troubled; he’s drinking far too much while reeling from the death of a bandmate and artistic differences with his best friend in the band. But he came across as whiny and irritating. Mia felt immature, living with her parents and complaining about parental interference in her life.

Eventually I warmed to both Mia and Brennan. Mia has a troubled history in the community that led to unusual clothing choices. Her father accuses her of dressing out of Project Runway (think the unusual materials challenges). I like how Brennan appreciates Mia’s choices and doesn’t attempt to force her to conform as do some of the townspeople and her family. I also enjoyed the parts later in the book in which Brennan and his band mate discusses their artistic differences and reaches some compromises.

Mia and Brennan eventually become involved sexually, but keep it secret. I had problems with each of their decisions in this regard. Brennan keeps Mia in the dark about his identity as a rock star far too long for my taste. And Mia’s decision to date a man who clearly didn’t understand her and wanted to change her clothing choices, while secretly having sex with Brennan, didn’t sit well either.

The last third of the book picked up a lot for me. While both Brennan and Mia grew on me over time, I particularly liked Brennan in the end. Without going into spoilers I like that rather than one of them giving up their life and dreams for each other, they have a very different HEA, with Mia finding a new outlet for her artistic talents.